Anticiplate

My Mama once told me that her best conversations were had after dinner, picking at the remains of the salad bowl.

Erik and I have yet to sit at our dinner table for a long time. I think it is the chairs. So, our picking happens in the kitchen during the cleanup. And the conversation, well not so much. For as much as I love to cook, and as much as we love to eat, and as much as we LOVE to talk, it just doesn’t happen at the dinner table for us. We are silently stuffing our faces, and racing to get to the couch to relax after our busy days.

If we need to “talk” about something, or just need time to ourselves as a couple, we go out to dinner. Then distractions like plating the food, photographing, the dirty dishes, or Cashew begging does not get in our way. We sit, relax, and talk for hours while the staff is willing to serve us, clean up after us, and offer us dessert. But, then it is inappropriate to pick out of the salad bowl. Hmmmm…..

Maybe we need to invest in some comfortable chairs.

This recipe is not really a recipe, but more of a method or  compilation. The KEY ingredients are cilantro, beets, and avocado. Those are not to be changed! Erik and I sat silently last night stuffing our faces with this salad. At the end of the dinner (about 10 minutes long), he gets up and says 4 stars! We can have this one again. Sometimes after a long day at the ballet, that is all I need to hear to put a smile on my face.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

4 big handfuls mesculin greens

1 huge handful cilantro, just the leaves

1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced paper thin

Your favorite vinaigrette (I love balsamic with basil oil, or red wine vinegar, dijon, and spanish olive oil)

2 red beets, roasted and chopped into bite-size squares

1 free-range, organic roasted chicken (we get ours from Whole Foods), picked

1-2 avocados, thinly sliced

Crumbled goat cheese

A sprinkle of toasted pine nuts.

Cracked black pepper

Combine the greens, cilantro, and fennel with enough dressing to coat. Mound on a plate. Top with the remaining ingredients (I usually put the beets on first because they stain EVERYTHING). Serve immediately.